Always The Hero
by imasmurf93
Summary: Wally has always set out to be Kuki's protector. But when he gets hurt Kuki takes his role and works to distract him to keep him awake. Does he have the gall to tell her this time?


Wally panted as he ran down the deserted corridor. He dived and hid behind a locker as he caught his breath. Man, he was getting bad at this...maybe this was why kids had to be decommissioned at age thirteen, his ten year old energy and running on sodas was a thing of the past at only a week away from his own thirteenth birthday.

He peeked out from behind the locker. Where the crud was she? He was sure that Abby had sent her down the math corridor.

They'd been sent on a mission to the school when they found out that Mr Boss had called a late night meeting there in hope of liaising with the school principle to extend school hours.

After searching the history block as he'd been told he headed straight for this floor to check that Kuki was okay. Of course, luck not being on his side, he'd run straight into one of Mr Boss' henchmen outside the staffroom and now he was being chased.

He stilled when he heard heavy footsteps and pressed his back firmly against the wall as he listened. Suddenly, a face appeared. A large, round faced man with greasy hair and uneven stubble. He grinned evilly at Wally and went to grab him, Wally dodged him and ran down the corridor. He turned a corner and grunted as he ran into something sharp that struck a horrid pain in his torso. He looked up to see another one of Mr Boss' henchmen, chuckling horridly. Wally looked down at the adults hands and saw that he was holding a ruler that had been sharpened on one end, the end that had just been knocked just under Wally's chest.

He panted and spluttered as he tried to focus on escaping from the villain rather than the excruciating pain that was building. Stumbling clumsily, Wally ran as fast as excruciating pain would allow him, amazingly, he ran out of sight and reach of the two henchmen. The minute he was out of sight Wally tried every classroom door that he passed in an attempt to shelter. Locked, locked, locked... Finally!

He let himself in and closed the door behind him as quietly as possible. Hearing fast paced footsteps coming up the corridor, Wally slid down to the floor, leaning against the door to avoid being seen. He heard the two henchmen bickering as they rushed past.

"I can't believe you stabbed him, you idiot! That was low. Sure, we're villains but they're kids. We never hurt them seriously!" one scolded.

The other scoffed at his comment. "Come on, Mr Boss is too soft, they all are. Why constantly moan about them and not do anything about it? I'm doing them a favor.I'm going to find Jimmy and we'll put an end to these Kids Next Door. Mr Boss will be bowing down to us!"

Wally wasn't listening too intently. The pain was increasing and he couldn't focus on much else. He put his hand on the pain in a subconscious attempt to ease it, but no luck. When he drew his hand back it was covered in blood...lots of blood. He didn't need to be a doctor to know that this was bad. But what could he do?

With great care, he shuffled to the middle of the room and took refuge behind a desk, out of sight from the window in the door.

"I hope numbuh three's okay." Wally thought aloud. With a crazed adult with a vengeance walking around it was crazy not to worry about his best friend's whereabouts.

Wally stopped when the door jiggled, then opened. He covered his mouth to mask the loud panting that his throat was insisting on making, trying to stay as silent as possible so not to be heard by this lunatic.

He was surprised when he heard the person in question sit down and let out a heartbreaking sob that Wally had heard a few too many times before. He blinked.

"Numbuh 3?" he asked quietly, peeking his head around the desk to confirm his assumption.

Kuki jumped and looked around. Wally couldn't help but give a small smile, even in such a vulnerable state she looked so beautiful. She sat with her knees tucked under her chin, hugging her legs closely to her stomach, her long black hair slightly sticking to parts of her face due to the tears. She wiped her nose with her long, green sleeve and sniffed loudly. "Wally? Is that you?" She asked timidly.

"Numbuh 3, I'm over here." Wally replied, trying to hide the pain in his voice and fast paced breathing.

Kuki clambered to her hands and knees and crawled over to Wally's hiding place in a flash. She sat down in front of him and looked around nervously, not yet looking at Wally due to her need for being on guard.

"Things have gone crazy Wally! There's a guy out there working for Mr Boss. He's sharpened a ruler into a sharp point and I think he's looking to hurt us!" Kuki narrated frantically.

"You got that right." Wally sighed. Tightening his eyes in pain as he tried to rearrange his sitting position.

Kuki gasped when she finally focused on him and saw the blood building up in a gradually increasing blob on his hoodie. "Wally what happened?"

"I turned the corner and ran into him." Wally replied through gritted teeth.

Kuki stared at her friend with wide eyes. She leant forward and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, pushing him back so carefully that he could barely feel her. She bit her lip as her eyes darted around his hoodie, taking in the sight of the blood stain expanding by the minute. She then sighed nervously and spoke with a shaky voice. "Let me see it."

She reached out and took the bottom of the orange sweatshirt and tugged up. Stopping immediately when Wally hissed in pain and threw his hands over hers to stop the movement. When the shock of the pain subsided, Wally blushed and pulled away quickly when he realised that he was gripping Kuki's knuckles firmly. Kuki gazed around the room and then stood, disappearing from Wally's sight.

"N...Numbuh 3?" Wally called, his breathing still laboured. "Where...where'd you go?"

"Right here." Kuki's soothing words calmed him from the blind panic that was rising. She appeared next to him a few moments later with a pair of... _SCISSORS?..._ in her hand.

Wally's eyes widened. Fearing whatever answer was going to come from his curious question. "What are those for?"

"I need to check it Wally." Kuki replied, her eyes focused as she gripped the bottom of Wally's beloved sweater. "If it hurts you to lift it off I'm going to have to cut it."

"What?" Wally yelled, pushing her hands away. "You're not cutting my sweater!"

Kuki glared at him. "Wally you've got like ten sweaters the same! I need to check the wound!"

Wally crossed his arms stubbornly and shook his head. He then foolishly made eye contact with Kuki. His eyes slowly widened when he saw her sad, pleading eyes. He rolled his eyes and groaned, giving in and admitting to himself that Kuki was the best person to possibly stop this increasing pain. He nodded and moved his arms out of Kuki's way. She smiled at him reassuringly and slowly began to cut through the material. She was gentle as she pried the remaining material from his skin. Wally couldn't help but blush again when Kuki's attention focused on his now shirtless torso, she bit her lip with worry as she stared at the bleeding gash. She shook her head and looked up at him in worry.

"It's bleeding bad. I don't know what to do." She said quietly.

Wally looked down at it and his eyes widened. The cut just under his chest was about the length of half a finger, it was drizzling with blood, the skin around it had been tinted red and was in a sticky state due to the running of blood around it. Wally suddenly felt faint, he linked a few times and felt himself sway.

"Don't look at it!" Kuki scolded. Grabbing half of Wally's sweater from the floor and holding it on Wally's chest to cover his view. "This is hard enough without you freaking out seeing your blood."

"I'm not freaking out!" Wally panted, Making his best attempt to glare at her in his dizzy trance.

Kuki glanced back up and giggled at him lightly. She ripped a part of the sweater in her hands more and pressed it on the source of the blood, leaning into Wally as she did so. He jumped and attempted to push her away. He could just about muster a whisper in his breathless state. "What're you doing?"

Kuki blinked at him and focused back on Wally's bleeding cut. "I need to put pressure on it. To stop the bleeding. I'm not strong enough to just press."

Wally gulped as she repositioned herself so that she was leaning against him, pushing firmly on his ribcage. His giddiness started to increase. His breathing even more laboured. He gulped in anticipation, not knowing what to expect next. Kuki's voice brought him back. "No, Wally don't sleep! Please! You need to talk to me."

Wally chuckled breathlessly at his friend's request. "Talk about what?"

"I don't know." Kuki shrugged. She gazed at him nervously. "Tell me your biggest secret!"

Wally groaned. He couldn't think of anything right now. "You already know everything about me Numbuh 3!""

"No, There's gotta be _something_ I don't know about you!" Kuki pried. "Wally. please?"

She pressed a little harder on his stomach and he inhaled sharply, trying to hide the immense pain that he was in. Kuki looked up at him through her lashes, she breathed and then spoke. "You know, you don't always have to be so tough."

"What?" Wally spoke through gritted teeth. His eyes now feeling so heavy he couldn't keep them open.

Kuki replied to him softly. "You don't always need to act like the hero. I know you're brave...and I know you're hurting now, you don't have to hide it."

Don't have to hide it. Wally breathed deeply as he tried to manage the pain. He thought back to that day almost a year ago when his friend and leader, Nigel, went to the Galactic KND. He pulled Wally aside from the others and spoke.

" _You know Numbuh 4, you don't have to hide it."He spoke in his soft British accent._

 _Wally stared up at his old friend and hero with adoring green eyes. "Hide what?"_

" _Your feelings." Nigel replied, glancing over at Kuki, who was sobbing into Abby's shoulder, distraught at her friend leaving the team. "Time goes quicker than you think so you need to decide whether you're going to tell her or not."_

 _"Tell who what?" Wally choked. Scratching his neck in embarrassment._

 _Nigel rolled his eyes. "You know what I'm talking about Numbuh 4! I know that you're not as stupid as you make out. Do you really want to wait until the day that you're decomissioned to tell Numbuh 3 that you love her? Or are you going to get decommissioned, knowing that you never did it and now she'll never know?"_

 _Wally stared at him in awe as Nigel's gaze slowly drifted over to his leader in command, Rachael. He sighed sadly. "You never know when your next chance could be your last."_

Wally was woken by his memory when a sharp pain flared up on his cheek. He cried out and lifted a hand to his face. Groaning again when the movement sent shooting pains in his still bleeding torso.

"Oh Thank goodness!" Kuki sighed loudly in relief, her eyes red with panic. "Don't do that Wally! You scared me!I didn't think you were going to wake up!"

"Did you just...slap me?" Wally asked in amazement. His voice still broken with pants.

She bit her lip guiltily. "I had to try anything to stop you from falling asleep. I'm sorry"

She looked back down at her nursing hands, avoiding contact with Wally, who she was sure was going to be angry. "Please, talk to me now you can tell me anything. Your favorite movie, why wrestling's so great, even why you hate my rainbow monkeys so much just please. I need you to focus and keep talking to me Numbuh 4!"

Wally thought for a second, reviewing his memory before sighing and opening his mouth to speak. "I do have a secret you know." He spoke softly.

Kuki's eyes lifted in interest. She remained silent and listened.

"I think everyone knows about it except you." Wally continued, finding the words were getting harder, but he didn't know if it was due to the blood loss or worry of finding the words.

Kuki watched him and waited for him to continue. Despite worrying about her friend's slipping health, she couldn't help but feel excited. Kuki always loved sharing secrets. She waited patiently for Wally to continue. He took a few breaths before speaking again.

"There's this...girl." He started.

Kuki beamed. "You like someone?!"

Wally shushed her as sternly as possible with his shortage of breath and lack of fight. Kuki lanced at the door to ensure that they hadn't been heard, she pressed her lips together and stared at him.

There was a girl he liked?

This was great, today was turning out to be just peachy...First she was dragged out of bed on a Friday night because of stupid Mr Boss, then she found out that this mission put their lives at stake, then she found that her best friend and crush had been hurt - she had no idea how to help him, now he told her that there was someone he liked.

Wally was now pale, his face looked cleared her throat, knowing that she had to keep him focused to stay awake. She plastered her big Kuki grin back on her face and spoke excitedly. "How'd you know her?"

Wally grunted, he attempted a half shrug and muttered. "She's in the KND and a few classes at school."

"So I'll know her too?" Kuki asked.

Wally nodded. Kuki tried to think of who she'd seen Wally with, he never had been one to hang around with many girls. There were a few girls who attempted to talk to him in school but by Kuki's recollection, he never showed any of them any interest. There was Abby but surely he wouldn't like _her_ , they'd always had more of a sibling relationship.

He sighed in defeat, the pain starting to make him lose concentration again, his half closed eyes started to droop. Kuki had to think of something to pick him back up. She gulped, not sure that she wanted to hear the answer to her next question. "Is she pretty?"

Wally's face softened, his eyes remained closed but the creases on his lids relaxed, his lips curved up into a small smile. Any other time, this face would have made Kuki melt. This time she felt like she'd been stabbed in her own ribcage, he was smiling thinking about this girl.

"She's beautiful. Probably the prettiest girl in the KND." Wally replied, he sighed softly and shifted his body in an attempt to get more comfortable, he grunted in pain as he failed miserably.

Kuki sighed. "It looks like you really _love_ her."

Wally opened his eyes slightly and stared at her. He frowned and whispered to her. "I kept trying to tell myself that I only liked her but...I can't stop my heart from jumping when she's around, I always want her to be happy, I'd do anything to be around her...I think that I must be...in love."

"So...Does she like you back?" Kuki asked glumly, failing this time to hide her jealousy.

Wally gulped, "I don't know. Probably not. I'm not always too nice to her."

Kuki sighed. "So, tell me about her. What's she like?"

Wally thought before he spoke, he slowly reached his hand up, trying to summon the courage to touch hers.

"She's amazing, really cheery and sweet. She makes you happy just being around her and can make anything seem fun and good. Even the things that aren't interesting at all seem like a blast when she's around. It's like she can just cast a spell on the whole room to be happy. She gives you this warm feeling when she talks to you 'cause she makes you feel like the most important person in the world, she's so caring, and loyal and…"

His hand hadn't reached hers before the door flew open and made them jump. The henchman walked in and glared at them with a wicked grin. "Jimmy!" He called. "I've got them!"

Another, younger henchman walked in, a young teen with red, fluffy hair and a lanky, firmly built body. Wally tried to lunge for him when he grabbed Kuki and threw her over his shoulder but the pain stopped him from moving too far. The other henchman grabbed Wally by the collar of his sweater and yanked him out of the room. The last thing Wally could hear was Kuki's panicked calls to him.

When he woke up again he focused immediately on the increased pain that was shooting through his body. He opened his eyes slowly, he saw Kuki beaming at him. When his sight came fully into focus he could see that she was tied up to a chair.

"Wally! You're alright!" She whispered. "I was scared you weren't going to wake up!"

"Where...where are...are we?" Wally struggled to speak due to his struggle to breath. He tried to take deep breaths but nothing seemed to work.

He figured out that he had been lay on the floor, he tried to roll from his stomach to his side but didn't have the strength, he sighed in frustration, feeling weak and pathetic, above all, embarrassed that Kuki was watching him in this vulnerable state.

"You're in the gym!" The younger henchman called as he strolled over to them. Crouching down next to Kuki and staring at Wally with an evil smirk. "You brats thought you could hide huh? Well did you never think to sit out of the security cameras view? This is your school right? Surely you know that there's cameras in every classroom! My dad's just gone looking for your other two little buddies, they were smart enough to dodge the cameras."

"Then you should know that the cops will see what you've done to us and arrest you!" Kuki spat.

She cowered as Jimmy raised on his knees to reach her level. He grinned and gripped her chin in between his finger and thumb. He chuckled as she tried to pull away. "You're a little feisty for a damsel in distress huh?"

"Don't touch her!" Wally growled with all of his might. He glared at Jimmy with eyes of stone.

Jimmy looked back at him and met Wally's heavy eyes. He sneered and looked back at Kuki. "We heard your little conversation slash confession too you know pal. For someone so dumb, you have a pretty good taste in girls. This one's a real cutie...I'm guessing it is her you were talking about, right?"

Wally looked back to Kuki, whose eyes widened as she stared back at him, her mouth slightly open in shock. Wally dropped his head back down to the floor in embarrassment, Jimmy cackled at his response. He stood up and walked over to Wally, kicking him solidly in the ribs and ignoring Kuki's calls to stop as he crouched down and whispered in Wally's ear. "Your little cutie pie's going to sit there and watch you die. You haven't got long left. You disrespectful brats all deserve what you get. Then, when we find your other pals, I'm going to kill her first."

He started to stand but was met by a slam to the head with a hockey stick. Wally just about saw Kuki's silhouette strike Jimmy again before he lost consciousness once again.

….

"Wally!" A frantic, familiar voice woke him up. "Wally! Please wake up!"

He felt his head being lifted, but couldn't find the strength to open his eyes. An arm went under his shoulder and propped him up. The voice, which he slowly recognised to be Kuki's, spoke again. "Please, please Numbuh 4. Now's not your time! We've won! Open your eyes, please."

Kuki's pleading words broke his already aching heart. He felt slight pressure on his lips and could smell Kuki's sweet scent. She pulled away and held him close, whispering in his ear, her voice broken by small sobs. "I love you too. Please don't leave me!"

Her pleads pushed him to try with all of his might to open his eyes. He groaned when the light hit his sensitive pupils. But calmed when he saw Kuki looking back down at him. Hoagie and Abby were stood behind her, Mr Boss and a few other villains by their side. All starring in his direction. He stared back at Kuki and blushed as she placed a warm hand on his cheek. He smiled weakly. "Hi."

"Hi." She whispered back.

"Are you okay?" He croaked,

She blinked at him in confusion. "Wally, you've been stabbed, kicked and unconscious and you're asking _me_ if I'm okay?" 

"I don't care about me." He sighed. Vocalising in pain when he tried to move.

Kuki pressed him down firmly. "Don't move. Mr Boss called the ambulance, they're on the way. It won't be long."

"Mr boss?" Wally asked in shock.

Kuki nodded and looked back at the unlikely allies. "Mr Boss was furious when he heard what those guys did to you. He said that they may be villains but they're not killers. They never mean to hurt us. Anyway, the villains took those guys down for us."

"You looked like you were doing a pretty good job where I was lying." Wally responded. His eyes half closed.

Kuki chuckled humorlessly. "I didn't know what to do, I just knew that I had to get out of that chair and stop him from hurting you more. I couldn't lose you."

Wally opened his eyes and stared back at Kuki. She beamed and leant forward, Wally puckered his lips and waited for Kuki to close the distance. Before they could touch they were interrupted.

"Okay guys let's all get out of the way please. Give him air sweetie, let us see what's going on." The paramedic ordered in an assertive tone as she arrived with an assertive tone, Kuki slid backwards on her knees and watched as the paramedic and her partner immediately tended to Wally, answering any questioned that they asked about the events. Before long Wally was put into the ambulance, a heart monitor strapped to his chest and an oxygen mask on his face. Kuki wasn't allowed to join him in the ambulance as Mrs Beatles had turned up following Abby phoning her with the same believable backstory that they had told the ambulance crew. Instead, she stayed back to give statements to the police.

…

It wasn't long before Wally was lying in a hospital room. Mrs Beatles had rushed home with the promise of returning in an hour once she knew that Wally was okay. She had left her door unlocked in a panicked state and wanted to head home to cook Wally a breakfast to cheer him up.

Wally was lying in the bed, staring at the ceiling and replaying the last few hours in his head. He looked at the door when he heard it click, he beamed when he saw Kuki peep her head in shyly. She smiled and stepped in.  
"Hey." She said quietly. "Abby made me go first with the police statements so I could come and be here."

She pulled up a chair next to his bed and looked at the wires attached to him. "What are those?"

"Oh." Wally responded. "Just heart monitors. I stopped falling unconscious but they want to keep it on to check."

Kuki nodded. "You're going to be okay right."

Wally smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Apparently I had someone do all the right things and save my life."

Kuki blinked in amazement and giggled as she blushed. She stared back up at him, but frowned when she saw Wally's disheartened face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Wally replied gruffly. Scratching his neck and sighing loudly.

Kuki smiled. "Wally I know you better than that. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, it's just…" Wally sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you today. I felt so helpless when you had to be the hero."

Kuki stood up and perched on the side of his bed. She reached out a hand and placed it onto his arm. "You don't always have to protect me Wally. But, you always have and always will be my hero."

Wally looked back at her and she smiled, leaning over to him and kissing him gently on the lips. He was so shocked that he didn't know how to react. He gasped. "Why'd you do that?"

"Because I knew that you wouldn't." Kuki joked. Then snuggled up next to him. "It's really me that you like?"

"Not _like_." Wally chortled in embarrassment.

Kuki beamed up at him and kissed him again. "I love you too!"

She reached up to him and kissed him again, this time he plucked up the courage to kiss back. He smiled dreamily. Nigel was right. What was he doing wasting all of this time with Kuki before it all became a completely forgotten memory? He'd already wasted so much time attempting to tell her how he felt and chickening out. Right now, all he wanted was to make the most of the time they both had left.

 **P.S Well, that was it.  
I actually wrote this fic as a last 'goodbye' fic. I'm going to stop writing fics on here and I'm going to focus on Wattpad. I hope you all liked this and thank for being great readers and reviewers!**


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